Eitimde Kuram ve Uygulama 2006, 2 (2): 119-122

Journal of Theory and Practice in Education Tantmalar/Reviews

ISSN: 1304-9496 http://eku.comu.edu.tr/index/2/2/suztosun.pdf
anakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education. All rights reserved.
anakkale Onsekiz Mart niversitesi, Eitim Fakltesi. Btn haklar sakldr.


119

HEATON, John Brian
Writing English Language Tests (New Edition)
Longman UK Limited, Hong Kong 1990, XI+192p.
ISBN: 0-582-00237-0

M. Sercan Uztosun
1


The teaching process begins with setting up an instructional goal which
will determine the process, since that process is designed with the aim of
fulfilling that goal. Testing is the only way to see the efficiency of the process.
Additionally, testing is an aspect of learning that enables learners to grasp
what they have missed previously and the teacher to comprehend what can be
done in subsequent lessons to improve learning (Chastain 1988). Therefore,
teaching and testing are so closely interrelated that significant teaching process
requires effective testing procedure or vice versa. Chastain (1988) considers
testing as the final step in the sequence towards mastery of content and
accomplishment of objectives. Hence, great care should be given in designing
testing procedure as a major step of the teaching process. Furthermore, Heaton
says that tests may be constructed primarily as devices to reinforce learning
and to motivate the student or primarily as a means of assessing the students
performance in the language (p.5). Therefore, tests should not solely be
considered as a tool for perceiving learners development but also as a tool for
motivating students in their self-development.
Throughout Writing English Language Tests, the functions of testing as
a tool for reinforcement and motivation are highlighted and testing is
considered as the provider of efficient teaching process. As a study in the
Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers series, this book comprises
eleven chapters; six of which deal with how to test different skills in language
learning and provide examples which will be useful in testing those particular
skills. The other five chapters deal with factors that should be taken into
account in designing an effective testing procedure, such as scoring tests,
types of tests, and interpreting test results.
Before discussing how to test different language skills, in the first
chapter, Introduction to language testing, Heaton offers a rationale for testing.
He discusses the relationship between testing and teaching to highlight the role
of testing as a tool for ascertaining the efficiency of the teaching process. In
providing different kinds of tests for different language skills, he summarizes
the characteristics of the four language skills and offers some test forms for

1
anakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education, ELT Department.
E-mail: sercanuztosun@yahoo.com
Sercan UZTOSUN Writing English Language Tests (Heaton, J. B.)





Eitimde Kuram ve Uygulama/ Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr
ISSN: 1304-9496

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assessing each of these skills. He seeks to answer the questions, Why test?
and What should be tested and to what extent?
In Chapter 2, Approaches to language testing, the author classifies
language testing according to four main approaches, listed in chronological
order as (i) the essay-translation approach; (ii) the structuralist approach; (iii)
the integrative approach; and (iv) the communicative approach. After
summarizing the functions of these four approaches, he emphasizes the
importance of maintaining ideas and goals by trying to devise a test which is
as valid and reliable as possible and which has a useful backwash effect on
the teaching and learning leading to the test (p. 24). In brief, the role of
teacher as the provider is highlighted as the objective of assessment.
The third chapter, which concerns the scoring of tests, focuses on the
difference between subjective and objective testing. These two types of
testing, which are defined by Hughes (2003) as the distinction between
methods of scoring regarding the subjectivity or objectivity of the judgement,
are explained in detail with reference to multiple-choice techniques. Heaton
illustrates instances of each type of testing by comparing their advantages and
disadvantages. However, he focuses only on the multiple-choice test as an
example of an objective test and does not refer to other types of objective
testing such as matching questions or true-false questions. The components of
multiple-item tests - stem, options, and distracters - are explained in detail
with reference to their functions. Different examples are presented in
describing the different types of each item, for example; the stem as a
complete or an incomplete statement, or as a question. He also explains some
techniques which might not be found meaningful by the students when applied
to a multiple-choice test, such as writing the correct option in blanks, writing
the correct letter of the correct option in the blank or in box, and underlying
the correct option.
In the following six chapters, different types of test techniques are
explained in detail by giving specific examples of each. Tests of grammar and
usage, Testing vocabulary, Listening comprehension tests, Oral production
tests, Testing reading comprehension and Testing the writing skills are
discussed in separate chapters. For each unit, a brief rationale is presented
initially to explain why to test each different skill. After that, the different
types of tests which may be helpful in assessing that skill are provided. In
doing so, the author exemplifies each type of testing and discusses the
strengths and weaknesses of each, which will guide teachers in deciding which
technique to apply. However, most of the items that are presented in these six
chapters are based on multiple-choice items in which students are solely
expected to recognise the correct answer among distracters. Learning a
language does not necessarily mean recognizing correct forms but in
producing them in different situations appropriately. Therefore, it would be
Sercan UZTOSUN Writing English Language Tests (Heaton, J. B.)





Eitimde Kuram ve Uygulama/ Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr
ISSN: 1304-9496

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better to exemplify recall items which measures the students ability to apply
functional understanding to produce language (Chastain 1988), such as
comprehension questions, rewriting, summarizing, etc.
Chapter 10, Criteria and Types of Tests, discusses the principles that
determine efficient tests. Here, the starting point of an efficient test is regarded
as validity, which is the extent to which the information you collect actually
reflects the characteristics or attribute you want to know about (Genesee and
Upshur 1996). After defining different types of validity such as face, content,
construct, and empirical validity, Heaton clarifies the features of validity and
reliability by referring to the distinction between an achievement test and a
proficiency test. In distinguishing these two tests, the author asserts that an
achievement test might well exclude factors such as personality while a
proficiency test or public examination might consider such factors as
important in evaluating oral ability in the target language (p. 159). Therefore,
he claims that the validity of a test should be determined in accordance with
the objective of the test. Additionally, in explaining the relationship between
reliability and validity, Heaton provides a thorough explanation with reference
to the difference between objective and subjective tests. After clarifying the
distinction between these two tests, he claims that the high reliability of a test
can influence the validity of it in a negative way since real-life tasks
contained productive tests such as the oral interview, role-play, letter writing,
etc. may have been given high construct and face validity at the expense of
reliability (p. 164). Therefore, as the author suggests, it is much more
difficult to increase the validity of a test known to be reliable. In so doing, it
is essential to devise a valid test first of all and then to establish ways of
increasing its reliability (p 165). After discussing the features of reliability
and validity, Heaton explains the importance of discrimination and
administration of a test. He focuses on the practicality of a test on behalf of the
participants by referring to the importance of setting a suitable length of time
and providing clear test instructions. In this chapter, he also mentions the
backwash effect and characteristics of different types of tests such as
achievement tests, proficiency tests, aptitude tests, and diagnostic tests.
In the last chapter, Heaton deals with How to interpret test scores,
which is considered the final step in the testing process. Although this final
step may affect the whole testing process considerably, the author does not
mention the significant role of interpretation. Genesee and Upshur (1996), for
instance, discuss the factors affecting test score interpretation by highlighting
the relationship between interpretation and test construction. In this chapter,
Heaton presents an overview of frequency distribution, measures of central
tendency, and dispersion and item analysis. He gives specific examples of
each to clarify the functions of differing modes of interpretation. He also
highlights the importance of moderating a test since it is simply impossible
Sercan UZTOSUN Writing English Language Tests (Heaton, J. B.)





Eitimde Kuram ve Uygulama/ Journal of Theory and Practice in Education
http://eku.comu.edu.tr
ISSN: 1304-9496

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for any single individual to construct good test items without help from
another person (p. 185).
Finally, to arrive at a correct interpretation of language testing, all
language teachers should take time to read this book. It attempts to facilitate
teachers of English in providing an effective testing process. It also presents
detailed guidance on writing, administering, and scoring test questions. In
doing so, this book provides various lucid test samples for the different skills
of language learning that will guide teachers in planning their testing.
Therefore, teachers of English should consider this book as a handbook which
presents them with various types of test for assessing different skills. Teachers
can easily find types of testing relevant to their teaching procedure, and in
doing so, provide a much more effective teaching process for their learners in
which the learners are expected not only to fill-in-the blanks accurately, but
also to think critically by analysing problems and using different skills to solve
those problems.

REFERENCES
Chastain, K. (1988). Developing Second-Language Skills. Orlando: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Genesee, F., and Upshur, J. A. (1996). Classroom-based Evaluation in Second
Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for Language Teachers. (2
nd
Ed.) Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.